How to Dress for Success at a Joshua Tree Wedding — For Brides, Grooms and Guests
You can wear just about anything to a Joshua Tree wedding and still have a great day! However, planning a bit for the climate and terrain will make your day easier and more enjoyable.
Make Sure You Can Walk in the Sand
Of course the most practical and safe option for footwear in the desert is closed-toed shoes. But if you’re willing to watch where you walk a bit more, you’ll be OK in opened toed shoes. Just watch out for the cacti! If you feel like you must wear heels, go for chunky heels or platforms. If you wear thin heels, you’ll end up walking on your tiptoes all day to avoid punching through the sand and they’ll probably end up ruined anyway. Any no matter your footwear, it is definitely going to end up dirty and dusty.
Bring Something Warm (Even If You Don’t Think You’ll Need It)
If the wedding is anytime besides mid-summer, bring something warm to wear. It’s sometimes hard to believe on sunny beautiful days, but when the sun slips below the horizon and the wind picks up it gets really cold out here!
In the winter months, it’s often cold and windy for the whole day so it’s important for your warm option to be something you’re happy to wear in your photos and video. This is especially true for brides who often have exposed shoulders and arms. We’ve found that brides who bring a warm wrap that works with their dress are able to stick it out for the beautiful sunset colors without shivering and breaking out in goosebumps!
Summer Weddings
If the wedding is anytime from May to the end of September, it’s probably going to be HOT. No matter what you wear, you’re going to be hot and sweaty. But, if you decide to wear a heavy or dark colored suit, you are going to be even hotter.
Wind
There’s often wind out here so you’ll spend more time enjoying the day and less time preventing outfit malfunctions if you don’t wear short, floaty dresses, dresses that wrap, or any other outfits that wind can work mischief on.
Veils, Trains, And Other Things That Get Stuck on Cacti
Getting married in Joshua Tree doesn’t mean you can’t wear your dream outfit. But just know that long trains will definitely end up filthy by the end of the day and long, heavy trains make it harder to climb on rocks and get to cool spots for your photos and video. Long veils will keep snagging on cacti and bushes all day, so if you do want to wear a long veil for your ceremony, consider a hair style where you can take the veil off after the ceremony.
If you’re looking for more advice and resources on getting married here in the high desert, check out our some of our other posts:
Getting Married in Joshua Tree & The High Desert — Everything from venues to getting a marriage license to our favorite vintage stores.
Planning a Wedding in Joshua Tree National Park — This has all our advice for planning a wedding inside the National Park
How to Have the Joshua Tree Desert Elopement of Your Dreams — Advice for planning the perfect desert elopement.